My poem that is included in this work is What the Moon Say. This is an older poem,
which I wrote from the rooftop of the old, and then abandoned, Olympia Mill
back in 2001. I was bored one afternoon and was doing some “urban hiking,” when
I found myself staring at a full moon in the evening hue from the roof of the
old mill. The cityscape was before me and it was strikingly beautiful.

I thought about the moon that night and all that it has
witnessed over the course of time and how it seemed to look down on the world
with unspoken wisdom. Time sort of stood still and I thought, “This moon was
here when we were born, it watches us live and it will be here when we die.” My
next thought was getting off the roof of the mill before it was pitch-black
dark.

Here is part of the press release and the invitation for the
launch of A Sense of the Midlands:

The public is invited
to celebrate the launch of A Sense of the Midlands on Saturday February 22nd
from 5 – 7 pm at the Columbia Music Festival Association Art Space at 914
Pulaski Street in Columbia’s historic Vista. Admission is $15 which includes a
copy of A Sense of the Midlands, admission to the reception from 5 – 6 during
which authors will be available for signing, and admission to a reading from
the book from 6 – 7. (Two attendees sharing a book will be admitted for $20.)

“The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: ‘Go to
the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has
come up before me.’ But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish.
He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying
the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.” –Jonah 1:1-3, NIV

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him
and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms
around him and kissed him.” –Luke 15:20, NIV

“Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house,
because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and
to save the lost.’” –Luke 19:9-10, NIV

“Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law
said to him, ‘Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.’He
answered, ‘A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be
given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a
huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart
of the earth. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this
generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now
something greater than Jonah is here. The Queen of the South will rise at the
judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the
earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now something greater than Solomon is
here.”–Matthew 12:38-42, NIV

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so
far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?” –Psalm 22:1, NIV

“I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard
my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my
feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my
mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put
their trust in him.” –Psalm 40:1-3, NIV

“Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: ‘Go to the great city of Nineveh and
proclaim to it the message I give you.’ Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and
went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go
through it.Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city,
proclaiming, ‘Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.’ The Ninevites
believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the
least, put on sackcloth.” –Jonah 3:1-5, NIV

“But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry.
He prayed to the Lord, ‘Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home?
That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a
gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who
relents from sending calamity.’” –Jonah 4:1-2, NIV

“The Lord said, ‘You have been concerned about this plant, though
you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight.
And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are
more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand
from their left—and also many animals?’” –Jonah 4:10-11, NIV

Jonah: The Vine and the City

Jonah, the pouting prophet,

Knew what God would do

If God would spare him,

God would spare Nineveh too.

Jonah was angry and indignant.

He despised this Ninevite people.

And knew what their salvation meant.

Jonah was at his threshold. He was spent.

“Isn’t this what I said, Lord?” Jonah prayed.

“I knew you were gracious and compassionate

Slow to anger and abounding in love . . .

This is why I tried to run away!”

“Is it right for you to be angry?” the Lord replied.

Jonah just sat there wishing he had died.

God gave Jonah a shady plant to sit under and morn.

But when God made it die, he wished he had never been born.

“Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” God said.

“You care more for it than you do for the people.”

God continued, “If I could spare you the vine,
Should I not also spare this City of mine?”

Thursday, February 6, 2014

“But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry.
He prayed to the Lord, ‘Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home?
That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a
gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who
relents from sending calamity.’” –Jonah 4:1-2, NIV

Jonah: The Vine and
the City

Jonah, the pouting prophet,

Knew what God would do

If God would spare him,

God would spare Nineveh too.

Jonah was angry and indignant.

He despised this Ninevite people.

And knew what their salvation meant.

Jonah was at his threshold. He was spent.

“Isn’t this what I said, Lord?” Jonah prayed.

“I knew you were gracious and compassionate

Slow to anger and abounding in love . . .

This is why I tried to run away!”

“Is it right for you to be angry?” the Lord replied.

Jonah just sat there wishing he had died.

God gave Jonah a shady plant to sit under and morn.

But when God made it die, he wished he had never been born.

“Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” God said.

“You care more for it than you do for the people.”

God continued, “If I could spare you the vine,
Should I not also spare this City of mine?”

“The Lord said, ‘You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?’” –Jonah 4:10-11, NIV

“Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: ‘Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.’ Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it.Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, ‘Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.’ The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.” –Jonah 3:1-5, NIV

“I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him.” –Psalm 40:1-3, NIV

Saturday, February 1, 2014

“The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: ‘Go to
the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has
come up before me.’ But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish.
He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying
the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.” –Jonah 1:1-3, NIV

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About Robbie

Robbie Pruitt is a youth minister in Alexandria, Virginia. Robbie loves Jesus, family, ministry, the great outdoors, writing poetry and writing about theology, discipleship and leadership. He has been in ministry more than twenty years and graduated from Columbia International University and Trinity School for Ministry.

Every Day Poems

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A Prayer For Artists

"O God, whom saints and angels delight to worship in heaven: Be ever present with your servants who seek through art and music to perfect the praises offered by your people on earth; and grant to them even now glimpses of your beauty, and make them worthy at length to behold it unveiled for evermore; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen." (Book of Common Prayer, p. 818)

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All poetry, text, photos, graphics, artwork and other material on this site are copyrighted by Robbie Pruitt, unless otherwise stated, and may not be copied, published, broadcast, rewritten, sold, used, or redistributed without permission.

This material shall not be published, rewritten, reused, or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. None of these materials or any portion thereof may be printed, stored in a computer, or other storage device for personal, commercial, or non-commercial use. This material cannot be used in whole or in any part without written permission, except for brief review or commentary.

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The views expressed on this website are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of Christ the King.